Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 230,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $46,418,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,716,000 after buying an additional 1,184,905 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,526,823,000 after acquiring an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,646,598.37. This trade represents a 9.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,924 shares of company stock worth $21,298,176. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2 %

WM stock opened at $233.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $228.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $220.38.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.29.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.